Minamoto Yoshinaka

Minamoto Yoshinaka (1154-21 February 1184), also called Kiso Yoshinaka, was the daimyo of the Kiso Minamoto clan during the Genpei War. An ally and rival of his cousin Minamoto Yoritomo of the Kamakura Minamoto, he was eventually killed in battle with his own family in the Battle of Awazu.

Biography
Yoshinaka was the son of Minamoto Yoshikata, who was killed in a family dispute by Minamoto Yoshihira while Yoshinaka was still an infant. Yoshinaka was spirited away by the Nakahara clan before he could be killed as well, and he was milk brothers with Imai Kanehira.

Later in life he changed his family name to Kiso after a rift tore the Minamoto into the Kamakura Minamoto of Sagami and the Kiso Minamoto of central Japan. Yoshinaka led the Kiso during the 1175-1185 Genpei War, and was allies with his cousin Minamoto Yoritomo, while an ambitious man who had questionable integrity. Yoshinaka fought against the Taira alongside his cousin, and in the Battle of Kurikara he scared off Taira troops by tying torches to the horns of cattle and sending them into the Taira lines. His victory was the turning point of the war, but eventually people began to notice his cruelty and wanted to overthrow him.

Death
The people's will turned into a family crisis as the Kamakura Minamoto broke the uneasy alliance and invaded the lands of the Kiso Minamoto, culminating in the 1184 Battle of Awazu. His army was defeated by Minamoto Yoshitsune's army, and his milk brother Kanehira committed suicide. Yoshinaka tried to flee but his horse was mired in a rice paddy and his enemies caught up to him and killed him. His death ended the family dispute, and the Minamoto were once more united.